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What to Do When Someone Dies in Shropshire: The First 48 Hours
When someone close to you dies, the world stops, but the phone does not. Within hours you can be asked for a doctor's name, a funeral director, a key holder and a date. Most people in Telford, Wellington and Shrewsbury have never done any of this before, and nobody hands them a list. This guide sets out the first 48 hours in the order they usually happen, and points you to a free step-by-step guide that was written in the UK, for families in England and Wales.
Why the first two days feel so hard
There is plenty of information about death online. What there is very little of is guidance: a clear order of what to do, at the exact moment you need it. People tell our team the same thing again and again. They did not even know what to search for in Google. They had a dozen jobs land on them at once, every one of them new, and every one of them felt like it had to be right first time.
Shropshire Expert Cleaners LTD has spent 17 years working in homes after a death, as a biohazard and forensic disinfection team. We see families at the very start of this, often standing outside a house they have not yet been able to go into. That is why we built the free guide described below.
What should you do first when someone dies?
The first step is always to have the death formally confirmed. If the death was expected and happened at home, call the GP or, out of hours, NHS 111. If it was sudden or unexpected, call 999. The police and the coroner may then become involved, which is normal and does not mean anything is wrong.
After that, the urgent list is short:
Get the death verified by a doctor or paramedic.
Find out whether the coroner is involved, and write down any case or reference number you are given.
Ask when the medical certificate will be ready, and who will contact you.
Lock the property and note who holds keys.
Arrange care for any pets, and empty perishable food from the fridge.
Tell close family yourself, and share the job of telling others.
Almost everything else can wait a day or two. That alone takes a great deal of pressure off.
How long do you have to register a death?
In England and Wales, GOV.UK says you must wait for the medical examiner's office to confirm you can register the death, then register within 5 days of that confirmation, including weekends and bank holidays. If a coroner is investigating, follow their guidance instead. Shropshire families usually register through the local register office for Shropshire Council or Telford & Wrekin Council.
What if the house is not safe to go into?
Sometimes a death at home is not found straight away. When that happens, our advice is simple: close the room off, stay out of it, and let professionals assess it. The police will usually finish their work first. There may be tape on the door, or a door boarded up, like the one in the cover photo for this post.
Our team is very often the only people to go into a property after the police, even at the quote stage. Families often wait outside, and that is completely fine. Nobody has to look inside. We lead the conversation, because we know you will not know what to ask, and you can choose a plain, text-only quote with no photographs or graphic description.
Where can you find a free step-by-step guide?
We built the free After They Die guide because families kept telling us there was no single place that told them what to do next. It was developed here in the UK by Shropshire Expert Cleaners LTD, drawing on 17 years of bereavement, probate and specialist clearance work across Shropshire and the West Midlands.
The guide covers England and Wales specifically, not a US template with the spelling changed. It:
shows only the next real step, with why it matters and how long it usually takes;
hides what does not apply to you after three short questions;
remembers your ticks, notes and reference numbers on your own phone or computer, with nothing uploaded;
is free, with no account, no adverts and no email sign-up.
If you would rather have paper, there is also a printable what to do when someone dies checklist, based on GOV.UK guidance.
Do you need a specialist cleaner after a death?
Most deaths do not need one. You need specialist help when bodily fluids are present, when the death was not found for some time, or when the police have attended a sudden death. In those cases the visible stain is rarely the whole problem. On one recent Shrewsbury job, blood had soaked through the carpet and underlay and run under the skirting into the concrete. Cleaning only the surface would have left a hidden risk behind.
You can read more about what happens in professional after-death cleaning and how to book biohazard and trauma cleaning in Telford.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to do everything on the first day? No. Confirm the death, keep the home secure and tell close family. Registration, the funeral and the money can wait a day or two.
Can a funeral director collect the person straight away? If the death was expected, usually yes, once it has been verified. If the coroner is involved, the coroner decides when the person can be released.
Who tells the bank and the council? Tell Us Once covers many government bodies after you register. Banks, utilities and insurers must be told separately.
Is the free guide really free? Yes. There is no account, no adverts and no sign-up, and your notes stay on your own device. It also installs on a phone and works offline.
What if I cannot face going into the house? You do not have to. Tell us what you need from inside, such as a phone or paperwork, and our team will look for it.
Areas we cover
We support families across Telford, including Wellington, Oakengates, Madeley, Dawley, Hadley and Donnington, and across Shrewsbury, from Harlescott and Monkmoor to Meole Brace and Bayston Hill. We also travel to Newport, Shifnal, Bridgnorth, Ludlow, Oswestry and Market Drayton, and into Wolverhampton and the wider West Midlands.
Take the first step today
You do not have to have everything worked out. Open the free guide, answer three questions, and do just the next step. If the home needs specialist help, call us and we will guide you through it gently.
Contact Shropshire Expert Cleaners LTD
Shropshire Expert Cleaners LTD is a specialist service. We do not do regular, standard, one-off or standard end-of-tenancy cleaning. We focus on after-death, trauma, biohazard and clearance work, where families need care as much as skill.
Call free on 0800 193 3699, with emergency lines open 24/7.
Call or text 07462 479 576.
Email specialists@shropshirecleaners.expert.
Did you know? We also created a UK end-of-life planner and an Executor's Workbook to help families get organised. Find out more at aftertheydie.co.uk.
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